ZNetLab vs GNS3, EVE-NG and Packet Tracer

What each one installs, what it runs, what it costs · last checked 9 October 2026

Four tools, two different jobs. Packet Tracer and the free half of ZNetLab are simulators: they model how a device behaves, so they start instantly and teach the command line without any vendor firmware. GNS3, EVE-NG and the paid half of ZNetLab are emulators: they boot the real image, so what you are configuring is the actual operating system — and you have to supply it. Most people need the first to learn and the second to rehearse.

Side by side

	ZNetLab	GNS3	EVE-NG	Packet Tracer
Runs in a browser	Yes — simulator needs no install	No — desktop client	Yes — after you install the server	No — desktop install
Works on a Chromebook or tablet	Yes	No	Only as a client to a server elsewhere	Limited — mobile build, reduced
Runs real vendor firmware	Yes, on a server you run — Dynamips, IOL/IOU, QEMU, Docker	Yes — the same emulators	Yes	No — simulated behaviour only
You must supply the images	Yes — nothing vendor-licensed is distributed	Yes	Yes	Not applicable
Reads GNS3 `.gns3a` appliance files	Yes, directly	Yes — its own format	By conversion	No
Recognises EVE-NG image naming	Yes — 120 platforms by filename	Partly	Yes — its own layout	No
Guided labs that mark your work	Yes — 31 guided labs, each task checked	No	No	Yes — Networking Academy activities
Multi-vendor command line	IOS-style and Junos-style	Whatever image you boot	Whatever image you boot	Cisco only
Packet capture	Yes — analyser with display filters, Follow TCP stream, `.pcap` export	Yes — hands off to Wireshark	Yes — hands off to Wireshark	Simplified PDU view
Open source	No	Yes	Community edition, partly	No
Appliance library size	Smaller	Largest	Large	Fixed device set
Cost to start	Free, no account	Free	Free community edition	Free with a Networking Academy account
Paid tier	0.00–20.00 USD a month, by image-devices per lab	None	Pro licence	None

Every figure ZNetLab states about itself on this page is checked against the code by tools/test-sitefacts.js, so it cannot quietly drift out of date. The columns for the other three describe them as they stood on the date above; they are other people's products and they move.

Which one should you use

ZNetLab

You want to start in the next ten seconds, on whatever machine you have, and you want something to tell you whether the task is actually finished. Later, the same account runs real images on a server you control.

GNS3

You want open source, the widest appliance library, and no dependence on anybody's hosted service. You are happy to install a client and a virtual machine, and you do not need anything to mark your work.

EVE-NG

You are building large multi-vendor topologies and want a web console onto a server you administer yourself, with a long track record behind it.

Packet Tracer

Your course specifies it, or you want Cisco's own teaching tool with the activities their curriculum is written against. If an instructor says Packet Tracer, use Packet Tracer.

What ZNetLab does that the others do not

No install for the simulator. A free network simulator in the browser, with no account, no download and no metering — including on a Chromebook, which rules out all three of the others.
31 guided labs that check each task against the running configuration, covering VLANs, trunking, OSPF, BGP, IPv6, NAT, ACLs, MPLS, QoS and SD-WAN.
A packet analyser, not a hand-off. Five views, display filters, find and Follow TCP stream in the page, with .pcap export and the same live capture available to your own analyser over HTTP.
Junos-style alongside IOS-style in the simulator, so the second vendor is not a separate download.
A protocol reference covering 29 protocols and their timers, beside the labs that use them.
One step from simulated to real. The same site that taught you the commands runs your own vendor images when you are ready, and reads the .gns3a appliance files you may already have.

What the others do that ZNetLab does not

GNS3 is open source and ZNetLab is not. If running only software you can read and fork matters to you, that is a real reason to choose it.
GNS3's appliance library is larger, and has been collected for longer.
EVE-NG has more history with very large topologies and the operational habits that come with it.
Packet Tracer is Cisco's own, and is what Cisco's courses and many instructors assess against.
None of them asks you to trust a hosted service for the teaching half, because none of them has one.

Common questions

Is ZNetLab a GNS3 alternative?

For some of what GNS3 does, yes. ZNetLab runs vendor images on a server you control using the same emulators GNS3 uses — Dynamips, IOL/IOU, QEMU and Docker — and it reads GNS3 appliance files (.gns3a) directly, so a definition written for GNS3 is understood without conversion. Where GNS3 is ahead: it is open source, its appliance library is larger, and it asks you to run nothing of ours. What ZNetLab adds is a browser simulator with no install and 31 guided labs that mark each task, neither of which GNS3 has.

Is ZNetLab an EVE-NG alternative?

They overlap closely: both put a multi-vendor lab behind a browser and both run images you supply. EVE-NG installs as its own virtual machine or on bare metal and has the longer track record for large topologies. ZNetLab recognises EVE-NG library naming, so an image directory laid out for EVE-NG is read as it stands. The practical difference is the starting point — ZNetLab's free simulator needs no server at all, so you can learn the command line before you own a single image.

Is ZNetLab a Cisco Packet Tracer alternative?

Yes, and it is the closest match of the three. Both are simulators rather than emulators, and both ship guided activities. ZNetLab runs in a browser with nothing to install and no account required to start, covers Junos-style as well as IOS-style commands, and includes a real packet analyser. Packet Tracer is Cisco's own, free with a Networking Academy account, and the tool their curriculum is written against — if your coursework specifies it, use it.

Is ZNetLab free?

The browser simulator and all 31 guided labs are free and unmetered, with no account needed to start. Paid plans apply only to the real-image lab platform, and are priced by how many devices in one lab need a vendor image — virtual PCs, LAN switches and NAT clouds are never counted. See plans and pricing.

Do I need to install anything to practise for CCNA?

Not for the simulator. The CCNA-level and CCNP-level labs run in the browser on any machine, a Chromebook and a tablet included. Installing only becomes necessary when you want to run real vendor firmware, which needs a server and images you are licensed to hold. Start at the labs.

Does ZNetLab run real Cisco IOS?

On the lab platform, yes — you supply the images. ZNetLab does not distribute vendor firmware and never has: Cisco, Juniper and the rest license their images, and the library on a ZNetLab server is the administrator's own copy. It identifies 120 platforms from their filenames, reads .gns3a appliance files, and boots them with Dynamips, IOL/IOU, QEMU or Docker. The guide covers standing a server up.

Can I move a lab between ZNetLab and GNS3 or EVE-NG?

Images and appliance definitions travel; topologies do not. A library laid out for EVE-NG is recognised as it stands, and .gns3a files are read directly, so the images you already hold are usable without renaming or converting. A saved topology file is each product's own format and has to be rebuilt.

Where to start

The free labs need no account — open the simulator, pick a lab and type. The guide covers building a topology, loading images and running a server. Plans explains what is free and what is not, and the site map lists every page here.